Allow us to introduce the 2021 Redstart Birding Optics Guide! It’s hot off the digital presses, it’s downloadable, it’s full of amazing products and content, and best of all, it’s FREE. Are you rolling your eyes at the thought of downloading yet another sales catalog to your growing digital pile? Trust us, our 2021 Optics Guide is much more than a catalog of products for you to flip through, although we do list them all—including every doggone detail and pricing… Read more »
Last year at this time we were in a COVID-19 tailspin at Bird Watcher’s Digest. Our governor had issued a shutdown order for all businesses in the state, and, like everyone in the world, we were terrified and dumbfounded. Honestly, our team of 12 people (who capably handle the daily workload of about 30 people) was just… Read more »
I’ve been in a funk for a while now. Do people even use the word “funk” anymore? It’s probably an antiquated throwback word, but it’s the best word I can conjure to describe the way I’m feeling. There are lots of reasons for my funk. I have some difficult anniversaries that circle ‘round this time… Read more »
When I was growing up in landlocked Tennessee, our family spent summers in Florida. Our annual pilgrimage to the Sunshine State involved loading up the Country Squire “Woody” Station Wagon to the hilt with beach towels, bathing suits, pots and pans, cooking spices, and groceries. I felt a “Lewis & Clark” kind of pioneering adventure… Read more »
Although Ohio winters can be quite long and dreary, one of the highlights for me is my backyard bird-feeding station. Winter birds with their colorful, cheerful presence can brighten even the most gray, snowy day. A few years ago I tried something new with my backyard feeding station that was a big hit with my… Read more »
Are you suffering from the “birding travel blues”? If you’re like me, you’re at home today daydreaming about distant lands and glorious life birds! Although our ability to travel this year has been hampered by COVID-19, birding and wildlife tours are gaining traction in the year ahead with birders who are eager to “get back out there.” While… Read more »
I’ll never forget the first conversation Bill Thompson, III, and I had about Reader Rendezvous. We had spent a week at the British Birdfair followed by some holiday time in England with good friends. As we were nestling down in our seats for the seven-hour return flight ahead, he said, “Hey, Wen, what do you… Read more »
Sometimes you find a hidden “travel gem,” a destination that’s unique and relatively unknown, and you want everyone you know to experience it, too. That’s how I feel about the Hocking Hills region of Ohio. Nestled in south-central Ohio, just an hour southeast of Columbus, the lush Hocking Hills region takes the stage in full… Read more »
Every story has a beginning. Bird Watcher’s Digest’s story begins with a woman named Pat Murphy. Pat was an experienced birder and a nature columnist for the Marietta Times newspaper. She eventually served as Bird Watcher’s Digest’s associate editor and as a columnist, and she was the leader of the local women’s birding club, the Betsey Birders. The… Read more »
At the outset of 2020, there were seven international birding tours on my personal calendar, and as the new year dawned, I was looking forward to an exciting year of travel ahead. I would have been on the road 185 days in 2020, adding four new countries to my life list, and dozens of new… Read more »
